Jalen Brunson ‘wouldn’t change’ past playoff struggles as the Knicks star prepares to face Cavaliers

Jalen Brunson ‘wouldn’t change’ past playoff struggles with Mavericks as the Knicks star gears up for leading role vs. Cavaliers in first round

  • Jalen Brunson once didn’t play during an entire postseason series in 2019-20
  • But he’ll be massively important for the Knicks this year as they face the Cavs 
  • DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news

Jalen Brunson is a Most Improved Player candidate, a 24-point per game scorer and a 1B option on a team that just won 47 games, but the point guard didn’t always have such a pivotal role in the postseason.

The ex-Maverick got zero minutes of playing time during the 2019-20 postseason series vs. the Clippers, and played just 16 minutes per night against the same opponent the following year – despite averaging 25 in the regular season.

As Brunson prepares to lead the No. 5 seed Knicks vs. the Cavs – possibly without co-star Julius Randle for a game or two – he doesn’t look back on his postseason hardships with bitterness. 

‘I wouldn’t change it,’ he said after practice Thursday, according to the NY Post.

‘You’re going to go through things for a reason. Everything happens for a reason,’ Brunson recalled after practice. ‘Obviously, I wish I would have played more, would have played better. But it’s all about how you respond to things.’

Jalen Brunson will have to be on the top of his game for the Knicks to beat the Cavs in Round 1

Brunson averaged 24 points per game this season for the Knicks as they secured the fifth seed

Brunson averaged 24 points per game this season for the Knicks as they secured the fifth seed

Brunson certainly showed what he was capable during last year’s postseason, averaging 21.6 points per game as Dallas made the Western Conference Finals.

That included three games in the first round where he averaged 32 per game with Mavs star Luka Doncic out injured, a stretch that proved his capabilities as a No. 1 option and likely contributed to the Knicks handing him a four-year, $104million deal in the summer.

 ‘How can you come back after you’ve been down? It’s always about how you respond. That’s how I’ve always been,’ he said.

‘It’s something I learned a lot when I was in high school, learned it even more in college [at Villanova] with coach [Jay] Wright. All those learning experiences you put into where you are now. So I wouldn’t change that.’

With Randle, who’s recovering from a sprained ankle, still not cleared for contact with Game 1 on Saturday, Brunson may have to emulate his first round performance last year as he kept the team afloat without Doncic.

Against a talented Cavs team featuring Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, he’ll surely have a challenge on his hands.